Title: Thy Kingdom Comes
Subtitle: Kingdom of the Crescent Rune
Author: Steve Woodland
Publisher: XlibrisAU
ISBN: 978-1-9845-0114-1
Pages: 254
Genre: Sci-fi / Fantasy
Reviewed by: Tara Mcnabb

Read Book Review

In Book One of the Crescent Rune series, Steve Woodland has managed to craft an electrifying sci-fi and fantasy epic that will leave your breathless and wanting more.

Thy Kingdom Comes mixes the best of sci-fi and classic fantasy archetypes, all set against the backdrop of a strange and alien world. At times both comical and eerily dark, the reader is instantly swept up into a taut series of events that abound with mystery and intrigue around every corner. Woodland successfully keeps things fairly light and refreshing while still maintaining a strong sense of wonder and awe in his writing. While not strictly sci-fi, it should nonetheless appeal to hardcore fans of both genres because of its unexpected twists, peculiar creatures, and dreamy descriptions.

Mia Elyse is a proud and feisty Rythanian, a violent war-faring race that is almost tyrannical in its pursuit of power. Brutal and merciless, they travel the galaxies in pursuit of conquests. But to Mia’s shock, her Deep Space Battle Fleet has just suffered its first defeat in the history of the Rythanian civilization. Waking up in a dungeon, she has no idea what happened or how she got there. Memories of a wreckage and a strange weapon begin to surface, however, and it becomes clear that the Rythanian people are no longer unchallenged. After staging a daring escape, Mia joins a group of other escapees on their quest for answers. But what she finds is not at all what she expected, and her destiny will soon be changed in ways she never imagined. Epic battles, erotic romance, and sinister villains await Mia and her friends on their journey through time.

Being that this is book one of a series, it is no surprise that Woodland ends his book with a satisfying cliff-hanger that certainly manages to leave one wondering about future plotlines. There is a strong and sometimes graphic lesbian love angle that will no doubt attract pro-LGBT readers, but has the potential to repel some conservative readers. At any rate, however, it does give the novel a sense of radicalism and progressiveness that’s still often missing in other stories of the genre. It could almost be interpreted as a feminist read, and whether the author intended for that to be the case is unknown. But Mia’s character is unquestionably glorious in her pursuit of meaning and power in a male-dominated sci-fi world. She knows how to wield her femininity to her advantage, but ends up finding love in the most accidental way.

Give this one a try if you like strong, sexy female protagonists set in a mind-bending world of deep space and high fantasy.